Senate Goes 65 Miles Per Hour

Higher Speed Limit Approved 24-10

House Vote Next

Critics said speed kills, but they were outdistanced and outnumbered Tuesday as the state Senate approved a bill raising the maximum speed limit on some state highways to 65 mph.

The Senate's 24-10 vote greatly increases the chances that Connecticut will become the final state on the U.S. mainland to raise its maximum speed limit above 55. Connecticut and Hawaii are the only two states that still have 55 mph limits.

Last year, the state House approved a bill raising the speed limit to 65 mph, but the measure was defeated in the Senate. Gov. John G. Rowland also opposed last year's speed-limit bill, but said he will support the measure this year.

``I have no problem with [raising the limit to 65], but I do want to make sure it's enforceable,'' Rowland said Tuesday.

The bill now goes to the House.

As originally drafted, the Senate bill would have designated several multiple- lane highways in central and eastern Connecticut for the higher limit, but the Senate amended the bill to allow the State Traffic Commission to choose which roads get the new 65 mph designation. The commission, in deciding where to raise the speed limit, is restricted to limited-access, multiple-lane highways that are considered safe and have little traffic.

Senators predicted that many of the roads in the original bill -- including I- 84 from Vernon to the Massachusetts line, I-395 in the Norwich area, Route 2 south of Glastonbury and Route 9 south of Middletown -- would be the ones targeted by the traffic commission, which is made up of the commissioners of public safety, transportation and motor vehicles.

Sen. Biagio ``Bill'' Ciotto, D-Wethersfield, co-chairman of the transportation committee, said the Senate vote reflected the undeniable fact that most drivers simply do not comply with the 55 mph limit.

``Part of it is bowing to reality,'' Ciotto said. But the vote also reflects the fact that, ``These highways were designed for 70 mph,'' he said.

Ciotto and other supporters said they hope state police would closely monitor the new limit and give tickets to drivers who go faster than 65.

Sen. William H. Nickerson, R-Greenwich, called that unlikely, and said the real result will be that people who used to drive 60 to 65 mph now will drive 70 to 75 mph.

Nickerson, who drives 160 miles round-trip to and from the state Capitol, said he has seen more fatalities than he cares to remember and said that number will only go up with a higher speed limit.

``I realize it's an inconvenience to drive 55 mph, but the remedy is not to change the speed limit, but to change enforcement,'' he said.

But Sen. Thomas F. Upson, R-Waterbury, who has pushed for a higher speed limit for more than a decade, said state roads can handle the higher limits and predicted that most drivers would stay close to the 65-mph limit.

Sen. John A. Kissel, R-Enfield, another supporter, said he frequently drives on the Massachusetts Turnpike, where the maximum limit is already 65 mph. Most people drive close to 65, Kissel said.

``Sixty-five feels comfortable to people,'' he said. ``Fifty-five feels uncomfortable and people indeed pass you by.''

If the bill is approved by the House and signed by Rowland, the traffic commission could change the speed limits as soon as this summer.

Megan's Law

In other action Tuesday, the Senate voted to expand Megan's Law, which requires convicted sexual offenders to register with police for 10 years after they are released.

The new bill would expand the number of crimes that are covered under Megan's Law, require violent offenders to check in with officials every 90 days and require the state police to develop a registry of sex offenders. The list would be given to local police departments and posted on the Internet.

Among crimes that would be covered by the expanded Megan's Law are fourth-degree sexual assault; first-degree kidnapping, if the offense is committed with the intent of sexually violating or abusing the victim; promoting prostitution with someone under 17; or employing or promoting a minor in an obscene performance.